Just to clear some things up:
The illuminati was a band of anti christian revolutionaires back in the day, that got disbanded.
The checkered board system is masonic, it's a masonic symbol. Yes there are masonic symbols everywhere.
One only needs to know where to look: The Queens of england chair for example is adorned with masonic symbology - the One doller Bill, shi8 even the White House is sat on a large OWL symbol, even the vatican's courtyard, shaped like a keyhole.
This isn't a vast conspiracy, masons are a powerful organisation that has in its past had presidents and monarchy part of it's structure.
The pyramid, that people refer to is the pyramid of society:
At its base are us, above that are the police e.t.c, above are the governments, above are the banks and above are the controllers of the social structure. We are the base, we support the structure above, that is what is ment by the pyramid.
Also DEVIL, is also LIVED backwars, EVIL is LIVE, in reverse.
The vatican is also filled with symbology -
Does it matter? It's nothing really, yes there are symbols, you can look, yes it has meaning, it's simply stating we are part of a larger picture, can you see the picture? The picture isn't nasty or about control, it's not good either, it's just institutions surviving, you can either conform to it or not.
Mason are not evil, they are not out to destroy or fuc* the world over.
There are many secret societies, even some claiming to be the illuminati, presidents have been members of these so called secret societies, skull and bones for example - it's just one large big boys club leaving graffeti everywhere.
Like I said the so called BAD THINGS are about MONEY, or control, but mainly MONEY - Follow the money trail and it will become clear, rather than follow some sort of divine trail like some Darran Brown Book.
There are always going to be people like Stalin for example who want power and control and total obediance from the serfs, but if you think your living in bad times, i'd suggest you pick up a book on the gulags in soviet russia around world war II and see how people lives under true oppression - By the way I also belive 100% that books like 1984, was inspired by things going on in Russia, if you know about the history back then 1984 seems nothing but an extension of Russian life, rather than a blueprint for the future.
The new world order, isn't the NEW WORLD ORDER at all, it's the SAME WORLD ORDER, this shi*'s being going on since the dawn of time - People need a leader, if you remove or get rid of the so called leaders, others will take there place, humans are incapable of governing themselves, remember that.
In comparison to how people lived in the past, we have it good, remember that when you want to rage at the machine, not saying that is wrong, some people want more control, be aware of it, but some people take this way too far, for example guy's can get depressed with this stuff, it can fu** them up, looking at ghosts and reading conspiracy saying they are 'out to get us', e.t.c.
Both sides have dis-information, more often than not it goes back to money again, if a site is telling you the illuminati is out to get you, remember they are getting traffic to that site, which is most probably revenue, its not rocket science.
Jordan Maxwell is a good place to start:
http://www.jordanmaxwell.com/articles/index.html